DRUG WAR HASN'T FAILED

The tale of The Black Duck (Robert Whitcomb, "An earlier 'War on Drugs,' "
June 10) is an important piece of history, but to use it and the
Prohibition experience to say that today's fight against illegal drugs is
"doomed to failure" is a mistake.

Rather than failing, the efforts to fight illegal drug use in America have
made remarkable progress. The use of all illicit drugs is down 50 percent
since 1985; use of cocaine is down 70 percent since 1985; and there are 9.7
million fewer regular drug users in America than there were in 1985. Were
such dramatic results seen in the fight against a social problem such as
heart disease they would be hailed as a success, and they should be seen as
such here.

No one can deny the nation still has far to go in the fight against illicit
drugs, and there are several ways we can build on the progress that has
been made, including increased access to drug treatment and an even greater
focus on prevention and education efforts. Drug addiction is a disease;
drug use is a preventable behavior; so long as we don't lose sight of these
facts, the fight against illicit drugs will remain far from doomed.

Richard D. Bonnette, New York, N.Y.